The Clemson football program is no stranger to having a generational talent at the quarterback position.
Tajh Boyd, Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence have all left indelible marks on the program under the guidance of head coach Dabo Swinney. Now it's D.J. Uiagalelei's turn, and as hard as it might be to fathom, he might have the highest ceiling of them all.
Uiagalelei came to Clemson with as much talent as any other quarterback prospect has. He also got the added bonus of getting to sit behind Lawrence for a season, learning from one of the best about what it takes to be a successful quarterback at the highest level, not only on the field, but off of it as well.
Entering his first fall camp as the leader of the Clemson offense, Uiagalelei is well-equipped to guide this team to another big season. One thing he is still working on, though, is the manner is which he goes about leading this team.
"I think the only thing that has changed is trying to be more of a leader," Uiagalelei said. "Trying to show more of that leadership role, try to be a little bit more vocal. Trying to lead by example, but you know, I'm trying to break my shell, trying to be a little more verbal each and every day."
Sitting behind Lawrence for a year, Uiagalelei also learned exactly how much goes into being the starter at a program like Clemson.
"How much time and effort you gotta put in," Uiagalelei said. "Being the starter, you know you're the leader of the offense. Being the quarterback, you know you're the leader of the offense so you want to do everything in your power to make sure that you're ready to be able to lead the troops out and make sure that you mentally prepared that you put your team in the best position."
Uiagalelei has also had an opportunity to get a small taste of what it's like to be the starting quarterback of the Tigers. With Lawrence out due to Covid protocols last season, Uiagalelei was forced into action earlier than expected, starting at home against Boston College and on the road at Notre Dame. It was an experience that helped him tremendously.
"The biggest thing I probably learned from that was how to prepare for the week when you know you're the starter," Uiagalelei said. "Going into the Notre Dame game I knew I was gonna be a starter, so that kind of helped me prepare. Coming in right now, coming into first fall camp, being the starter for the Georgia game week one, the biggest thing I learned is how to prepare and how to be a starter."
Before the Tigers hit the practice fields on Monday afternoon, they were treated to a surprise when NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley was brought in to speak to the team. While Uiagalelei admitted he wasn't quite ready to post up the Olympic gold medalist, he was interested in trying to apply some of the lessons Barkley learned playing basketball to his career on the football field.
"That was super cool getting to meet him," Uiagalelei said. "Good to hear what he said. All the stuff he has, all the knowledge. You know, that's a Hall of Famer right there, two time Olympic gold medalist. He's a great basketball player. Just being able to hear his mindset, what he took from playing basketball and seeing if you can apply that to football."
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